Does anybody still remember that marvelous 1960′s film, “Ship Of Fools?” It was a star-studded production about pseudo elites on a tacky “luxury” liner headed for Nazi Germany in the 1930′s. Mediatised royalty clinging to court etiquette despite their reduced circumstances. Well to do, though not really wealthy, people behaving as though the usual conventions did not pertain to them. Social climbers, unable to mix with the “best” society, were willing to suck up to people who were decidedly second-rate ( if that ). Shady people, with the obligatory standard society nymphomaniacs, hustlers and alcoholics round out the list of travelers.

In short, a fine example of what is going on in politics today.

Some months ago, at a meeting of the Charlotte Community Association, when the subject of the mayoral succession was brought up, a lady in the audience was distraught over the need for any sort of election to choose the successor of the mayor who was.

“Rochester is a Democratic ( meaning party ) city. What has anyone else got to say about it?”

Which means that “Democratic” has nothing to do with “democratic.”

Of course, the city charter, paying lip-service to “democracy” states that there will be an election of sorts, whether it be a general election in November, which most people want, or a “special election,” which most people other than Morelle, Gantt, Richards and five members of city council don’t.

What has been the most delightful part of this mess is that most Democrats don’t want the “special election,” either. Having successfully eliminated Republicans from having a voice in city government for a generation, they have nobody else to turn upon but their own party leaders and elected officials whom they placed in office!

Just like a bunch of cannibals!

The latest episode deals with the ineligibility of current temporary acting emergency mayor Carlos Carballada to serve in that capacity. A lawsuit filed yesterday in State Supreme Court by Rochester Democrats Louis Amico and James McTiernan, president of the city’s firefighters’ union, states that Carballada’s appointment doe NOT meet with the provisions of the city charter for an emergency appointment ( war, threats to national security or natural disasters ).

And really, it doesn’t.

The only ”emergency” issue involved here is that the oligarchs who rule Rochester’s Democratic Machine wish to insure that their choice, Tom Richards, will win the “special election” that will benefit them and them alone. Carballada’s emergency appointment is a means to that end. Tant pis to the Democratic rank and file who don’t like it.

The timing of this is not really all that questionable, either, despite whining by the leaders of the Democratic Machine. City council set the date for the “special election” this past Tuesday night, purposefully late in the piece to forestall any attempts by disgruntled to file any lawsuits that might force them into having a general election after all. The fact that those brave men had only two days to file this lawsuit and present it to city council at 4:50 last night speaks volumes as to the lack of control the Democratic Machine is having over their rank and file members.

We have to remember that on February 1, the provisions for the “special election” become law. This action might forestall that.

City Council President Lovely Warren criticized the timing of this lawsuit and stated: “It’s about people and their own political agenda and what they want to happen.”

But, then again, so was meeting in secret at a dinner party at a city councilman’s home in December to decide on a “special election.” And then to announce it casually at the public City Council meeting later in December. Whether or not they have dared to come outright in support of Richards is not the issue, because their actions gave him what he wanted. Wasn’t that their agenda?

Perhaps Lovely isn’t seeing the irony in her statement!

And the issue here is, if Caballada’s appointment was illegal, who will be at the helm until any sort of election takes place. Will it indeed force the City Council to opt for a general election in November and appoint an interim mayor until then, which is this lawsuit’s obvious intent? Or will we have yet another temporary acting mayor and the “special election?” Four “mayors” in less than a month?

Really, they might want to install a revolving door in the mayor’s office!

And please remember that these are Democrats squabbling over the mayoral succession! And the Democratic lady in Charlotte should be quite pleased! Because as downright creepy as this whole situation is getting, I don’t see disgruntled Democrats defecting wholesale to other parties. It is they and they alone who have institutionalized chaos in Rochester’s city government, just as their monopolistic control over Rochester for a generation has caused it to disintegrate.

And nobody is in charge. At least nobody whom most people see as legitimate.

As Werner Klemperer said in “Ship Of Fools:” “I’m second in command on a third-rate ship.”

We haven’t got even that.

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Contributors

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Rich Gardner has been writing about the history, culture and waterways of Upstate New York for years. His articles have appeared in U.S. and Canadian publications, and one book, Learning to Walk. He is an alumnus of Brighton High School and SUNY Geneseo. He operates Upstate Resume & Writing Service in Brighton and recently moved to Corn Hill, where he is already involved in community projects. "I enjoy the 'Aha!' moments of learning new things, conceptual and literal. City living is a great teacher."

Ken Warner grew up in Brockport and first experienced Rochester as a messenger boy for a law firm in Midtown Tower. He recently moved downtown into a loft on the 13th floor of the Temple Building with a view of the Liberty Poll and works in the Powers Building overlooking Rochester’s four corners as Executive Director for UNICON, an organization devoted to bringing economic development to the community. He hopes to use his Rochester Blog to share his observations from these unique views of downtown.